Presser-foot.



-J. W. GURHAN.

PRESSER FOOT.

APPLIOATIONYIILED A2115, 1912.

- Patented July 1, 1913.

Arrrsill d JOSEPH W. CURRAN, OF VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA.

PRESSER-FOOT.

Specification of Letters Patent' Patented July 1, 1913.

Application filed April 5, 1912. Serial N 0. 688,625.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, J osnrn W. OURRAN,citizen of the Dominion of Canada, residing at Vancouver, in theProvince of British Columbia, Canada, have invented a new and usefulPresser-Foot, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a sewing machine presser foot, which has beendesigned to apply a knitted covering strip to the seam of cut and shapedknitted garments in order to reinforce the seams. Under the presentractice the two pieces of the fabric are p aced one on the other and aresewn through along the edges to be joined, a sharp knife at the sametime trimming the edges parallel to the line of stitches. The connectedpieces are then opened out flat and the seam is passed through a doubleneedle machine with a looper attachment by which two rows of stitchesare sewn, one on each side of the joining and on the underside a loopingdevice simultaneously passes a thread back and forth through thelengthwise stitches to secure the cut edges of the fabric and preventunraveling. Owing to the loose character of the knitted fabric thissewing down of the cut edges on each side of the joint seam gives adrawn appearance to the fabric adjacent. To prevent this drawnappearance the seam is reinforced by a covering strip of knittedmaterial. The presser foot, which is the subject of this application, isdesigned to enable this covering strip to be applied to the joint seamsimultaneously with the running of the stitches by which the cut edgesare secured.

The invention is particularly described in the following specification,reference being made to the drawings by which it is accompanied, inwhich:

Figure l is a longitudinal section and part elevation of the invention.Fig. 2 is a cross sectionon the line A A of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a top planview of the presser foot. Fig. A is a cross section on the line B B ofFig. 1.

In these drawings 2 represents the stem which carries the presser footand 3 the clam by which the presser foot is removably secured thereto.The clamp member 8 is at its lower end favorably extended, as at 4, andis pivoted at 5 to fit between lugs 6 upwardly projecting from the mainbody 7 of the presser foot. The front end 12 of the presser foot body 7may thus yield upward slightly on the pivot 5 but this movement islimited by a pin 8 which engages a backward projection 9 from the heelof the clamp member 3. This pin 8 limits the movement to a very smallamount and a spring 10 holds the presser foot normally down on the heel.

The two needles of the machine pass through the apertures 11 and fromthe middle of the upwardly curved front end 12 a guiding blade 13projects forward and downward to guide the work evenly in the .jointseam and insure that the securing stitches are parallel to the line ofthe joint.

Just behind the upwardly curved front end 12 a laterally elongatedaperture 15 passes through the body 7 of the presser foot and on therear side of this aperture 15 upwardly projects a member 16 which on theforward side is curved, as shown in Fig. 1, the curvature being carriedaround to the underside of the presser foot.

The presser foot is provided with side ridges 14 so that a hollow recessis formed lengthwise of the presser foot to maintain the evenness of thecovering strip on the joint line.

In use, after two pieces of knitted goods have been joined together by arow of stitches run through both of them when they are superposed faceto face, the material is opened out and is passed through a doubleneedle machine having this presser foot. The blade 13 maintains itevenly in the joint and the covering strip of knitted material isdelivered from above through the. aperture 15 and passes under thepresser foot between the lugs 6 and is sewn down by the needles passingthrough the apertures 11, which stitches with the loopers on theunderside secure the out edges of the fabric.

I am aware that a presser foot pivotally connected to its clamp memberandhaving double needle apertures and a front guiding blade is in commonuse, but in none with which I am acquainted is provision made for thepassage of a relatively broad covering strip to be sewn down by theneedles. A single needle presser foot may have been used havingprovision for the passage of braid in a similar manner but such has nothad provision for "maintaining the line of the seam, or for sewing itdown by two parallel lines of stitches because the application 110 of acovering strip in this manner is novel.

Having now particularly described my invention and the object of it andthe adva11- tages consequent on its adoption, I hereby declare that whatI claim as new and desire to be protected in by Letters Patent, is:

A presser foot comprising a flat body plate, the front end of which iscurved upwardly, said plate having a longitudinal groove on itsunderface extending from end to end, said plate having a pair oflaterally spaced needle apertures, and a laterally elongated aperture inadvance of the needleapertures, a guiding blade formed with said bodyplate on its front up-turned end and held above the bottom plane of thepresser foot, said body plate including an upwardly projected memberadjacent to said laterally elongated aperture, and having its front sidecurved to cooperate with said laterally elongated aperture, and meansfor se curing said body plate to the stem of a sewing machine, said lastnamed means including a pair of upwardly projecting lugs on said bodyplate at its rear end, a clamp member to engage the sewing machine stem,

said clamp member having a foot extension to lie between said lugs,means for pivoting said foot extension at its front to said lugs, saidfoot extension having a heel and a cross rod between said lugscooperative with said heel to allow a limited pivotal movement betweensaid heel and said body plate, and a spring member secured to said clampand having a portion bent to engage the rear side of said firstmentioned upwardly projecting member, the rear side of which member isconcave to receive said spring, substantially as shown and described. i

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOSEPH W. CURRAN. lVitnesses:

ROWLAND BRITTAIN, MAY VVHYTE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

